Earlier this month, Etsy gave me a £100 gift card to buy some kawaii products to review for you. I know, right? It might seem like a dream come true, but it was so hard deciding what to buy! I eventually made some decisions so check out what I bought below. Most of the shops kindly offered discounts so you can do some shopping too.
Here’s everything I bought! The challenge was set by Etsy UK so I only shopped from UK-based Etsy shops. This meant I was able to get everything quickly without spending a lot of money on shipping or customs fees. I ordered from 10 different sellers and spent £101.96, of which only £19.01 was shipping. Most items shipped within 24 hours with the last item turning up a week later. There was a lot of cute packaging so check out my unboxing videos on Instagram if you missed them.
I Like Cats
The first place I looked was my Etsy Favourites. You can easily keep track of products you might want to buy later by clicking on the heart that shows up on all product images. I’ve had my eye on this dagger brooch by I Like Cats for a while now, so I put that straight in my basket. It’s really big and shiny and I love the mix of wood and mirror acrylic. The packaging was super cute too with free stickers and cat-printed tissue paper. If you love cats, I definitely recommend a browse.
Get 15% off all orders over £10 with the code SCK18. Expires 22nd September.
Bel’s Art World
You’ll be impressed to hear that I only bought one enamel pin! My collection is growing steadily and I knew this dim sum panda by Bel’s Art World would fit in with all my cute animal and food designs. The pin was great quality with lots of cute details and came with so many freebies including stickers and postcard. I could have bought a lot more here so check out all of Bel’s patches, pins and prints.
Use the code KAWAII for 10% off any order of £5 or more. Expires 10th September.
Lemon Cat
After that, I browsed my favourite shops – look for the button at the top of any shop page to add it to yours. Most shops list their location so you can check those near you. I love all the cute stationery at Lemon Cat and it’s always a good shop to look for kawaii characters.
They have a lot of things featuring Kanahei’s Usagi & Piske and I had to get these message notes. You write your message on the pad and then fold it up and tuck it behind Usagi’s ears to create a different design! They’re lightly sticky too so great for leaving secret notes or just popping in a package.
Use the code SUPERCUTE for 15% off all orders (no expiry)
Colour Splash Supplies
I then went looking for more kawaii stationery supplies – Etsy makes it easy to find shops in your country – just look for the filter in the sidebar and change it from ‘everywhere’ to your location. I was very happy to find Colour Splash Supplies, who stock products by Doodlebug Design.
I was tempted by all the stickers and ephemera but eventually settled on some washi tape – I can never resist cute bunnies and rainbows. It’s high quality tape and a long length so I’m sure I will be back for more.
Use the code HAPPYMAIL10 for 10% off all orders (except sale items). Expires 31st December.
I Spy Kawaii Supplies
After my recent colouring book review, I was on the lookout for pastel pens and found a set of highlighters with bunnies on! These are twin tip with a standard marker tip on one end and a chisel tip on the other end. The colours are really nice and soft and will be perfect for my journal as well as colouring and crafts. I Spy Kawaii Supplies have lots of kawaii character stationery so I’m sure I’ll be back.
Use the code 10RILAKKUMA for 10% off any order + free Rilakkuma sticky notes. Expires 17th September.
tinrobo
I spend a lot of time searching for kawaii shops on Etsy and I couldn’t believe I had never come across tinrobo before. There were so many cute bunnies, I almost bought the whole shop! The Tiny Market wooden brooches are so adorable and I had to buy two of the bunny ones. They’re even cuter and tinier in real life so I think I will be making a collection. I couldn’t leave that bunny badge behind either – it’s gone straight on my backpack.
Use the code SCKAWAII for 10% off any order. Expires 7th September.
Jazzy Menagerie
With good bit of money still to spend, I decided to get some lucky bags and surprise boxes that would be fun to unbox. Jazzy Menagerie has some great value mystery boxes full of fun things from her Hyper Japan stall. Look at everything you get for £5! There was a colourful mix of tiny brooches, badges, charms, stickers, bookmarks and even a lollipop.
Mystery boxes can be hit and miss but everything here is cute and fun, plus anything you don’t love is small enough to pop into a package for a kawaii friend. There are also larger size bags so have a look if you like surprises.
Use the code happykawaii for 20% off any order of £10 or more. Expires 30th September.
El Horno
If you ever spot El Horno at an event, you should try out the Print Vend machines in person as it’s a lot of fun. The mail order version takes away some of the surprise as it’s shipped unfolded for cheaper postage. You still get the enjoyment of seeing which tiny print design is included, plus there’s badges and chocolate! This one is from the vending machines series and I got some Japanese fries.
Get 15% off all orders of £5+ with the code SUPERCUTEKAWAII. Expires 30th September.
Little Noah’s Ark
And finally, stickers! Little Noah’s Ark have a few different surprise bundles including washi tape, scrap paper and planner supplies, but I had to pick stickers. For £4.50 I got 4 sheets and one pack of flakes. They’re all licensed products and included Hello Kitty, Little Twin Stars and Kutusita Nyanko so I was very happy. Not all the designs are kawaii but the others are good for journaling and writing letters.
Overall, I’m really happy with all my purchases and have been finding homes for most items. Buying directly from makers and shop owners always feels nice – everyone was so friendly and added cute packaging, freebies and/or personal notes, even though they had no idea I was ordering for a review post.
I always enjoy browsing on Etsy, but searching only UK shops has opened my eyes to some cute new sellers, plus local supplies shops that will save me on shipping and fees in future. I definitely recommend you try it yourself sometime.
You might have noticed I also bought a felt flowers kit from The Handmade Florist, but I’ll write about that when I have time to try it out.
(This post is sponsored by Etsy but all product picks, photos, words and opinions are my own. Discounts were not requested until all transactions were complete.)
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